Metal rake type appliance being bent over by tongue

Hey there. I have a patient with a problem and I cannot for the life of me find a solution…I’m depending on you:) I see a 19 year old who has a tongue sucking habit. Her father is a dentist and has been able to make all kinds of appliances for her throughout her life. The metal rake type appliances have been bent over by her tongue within a couple hours of her getting them. When she sucks her tongue, it is “sticking out”, in the sense that her palate is not the thing that is getting the sensation. I’ve got her oral habits “fixed” for during the daytime. However, the nighttime is creating a pretty big problem and I’ve racked my brain…When treatment started, she went from sucking every night to 2-3 nights/week. However, within a couple of weeks, we are back to 4 nights a week… Got anything? Thanks for the help! L  

Hi L, Let me be sure I understand this well. 1. She does not suck her tongue 3 nights a week and she does suck it 4 nights? That in itself is strange. What is she doing differently those 3 nights to prevent her from tongue sucking? 2. Is she a severe Class III? How is the metal appliance being bent by the tongue so rapidly? Sounds like something else is involved with the rapid bending. 3. How did you “fix” the daily habit and is it 100% finished? 4. Can you extend whatever it is she’s doing or not doing during the day to the night time? 5. How is she controlling it while in deep sleep? 6. I would need more info to respond appropriately to this; fill me in more in the above and perhaps I can come up with some suggestions. Waiting for you… Sandra  

She is not in severe class III. However, she does have class III malocclusion. I’m not sure what she is doing differently on the other three nights, and I’m not sure she even knows. She reports that average 3 nights a week she doesn’t wake up with her tongue out. The other nights she wakes up without her tongue out, which doesn’t necessarily mean she is NOT sucking her tongue…she just doesn’t know. I am confident that she has a healthy resting posture and is using a healthy swallow the majority of the time during the day. She is a motivated person and has made a decision to change her habit. Therefore, a decision alone won’t correct the sleeping habits when she is in a deep sleep. I’m looking for something we could do when she is unconscious. I just didn’t know if you had been presented with this issue before and you had something magic you could direct me to….thanks for the help! L.  

Other than the auto suggestion ideas in the Myo Manual and the use of the Manual’s download or flashdrive, I can’t think of more. I have used them for such cases, especially before bedtime since it reinforces everything when the brain is most relaxed and ready to receive the autosuggestions. Sandra